If 'designs' are intended to be reused across multiple areas - print, tv, web, whatever... - I cut designers a bit of slack in terms of deliverables. When the designers are primarily/exclusively working in the 'web' or 'mobile' portion of their industry, and yet, after several years, do not know how to even start to test ideas out in a browser, it's a sign that that they don't care about their work or career as much as I though they did (or as much as they probably think they do).<p>Even 15 years ago, the best design folks I worked with could do basic HTML stuff, to at least test out their core ideas. We'd review them, and I'd point out some problems we'd have cross-browser, or limitations of JS interaction at that time, and we'd iterate some ideas. They understood enough of the web portion (and these folks came from print) that when I explained (or could demonstrate) the problems in code, which they'd already written some of, they knew <i>why</i> the problems were there. They could <i>know</i> something was actually <i>not possible</i> to recreate in pixel-perfect fashion across IE3,4,5, NS2,3,4, WebTV and Opera, because they had experienced a site was more than displaying a single JPG file on a website with a massive HTML map area (did a couple of those WAY early on - insane).<p>Don't send me a photoshop file with 280 layers, one for each rounded corner on the 17 round corner boxes with too-small text which only looks good on your 30 inch triple monitors please. It's not going to translate and give the same 'feel' on multiple screens. (how come it's OK for you to not have to know html/css, but I have to have a photoshop license to work with you? and your agency complains about how expensive I am to boot?).<p>I don't expect you to be an expert in coding/layout, but I do expect you to know the basics. Similarly, I'm fine with knowing how to open PS files, resize images, export to different formats when you don't deliver what I ask for, etc. I can't do all of your job, you can't do all of mine, but let's have some familiarity with each others' worlds, OK?<p>About 20-30% of the design folks I've dealt with have truly 'got it', when it comes to designing for the medium, and understanding the tools. Most of them also did it in print, and would have an understanding of copywriting basics, font impacts, etc, as well as paper issues (printing on different paper types could impact colors, glossy vs matte, whatever). They understood the print medium, because they understood the basics of paper, then got in to web and understood the basics of web (HTML/CSS/etc). For better or worse, the other 70+% of folks just don't get it, or seem to care.<p>The older I get, the easier it is to choose to not work with those folks, but for the first several years of web work, I couldn't put my finger on why it was so much more productive working with person A vs person B.